Crescent (Tribes, Book 1) [completed]

Chapter 32

The tug on the fledgling mating bond came swiftly, but firmly. Conner recognized the wishes behind the call immediately. Liana was calling him back to her.

So, she had woken up.

Finally, Conner managed to take a breath large enough to fill his lungs. Liana had made it through emergency treatment, and had regained enough consciousness to want him at her side. That was all the good news he could ask for.

Landon, sitting in the driver's seat of the beat-up old pickup, took note of Conner's behavior. "She's okay?"

"She's awake." Conner leaned his head back against the seat. "She pulled through."

"Are you okay?"

Conner huffed a humorless laugh. Was he okay? No. Most definitely not. Liana's father was a force to be reckoned with when it came to control over his daughter. If not for the mating bond slowly growing stronger, Conner feared that the man would never have told him that Liana made it through treatment.

"I'll be okay when I can take her home," Conner confided.

"But, her dad..."

"I know. And she cares about what he thinks."

Conner's eyes trailed the stories and stories of hospital windows before them, trying to find where Liana might be. It was a futile task, but he and his wolf both needed to see her in order to calm down. At this rate, he might go crazy for real.

Even Landon sighed, now. "So what are you going to do next?"

"I'm going to go home and change clothes. You stay here and watch over her for me until I return." Conner held out a hand for Landon's keys.

Landon merely narrowed his eyes in consternation. "I mean what are you going to do about your mate's father keeping her away from you?"

Truth be told, Conner wanted to storm the hospital and take Liana back to where she belonged. But he wouldn't. Because he had promised her that he would work it all out so that she didn't lose her family or her future. At that moment, Conner regretted ever promising anything of the sort.

"Alpha?" Landon asked, his concern still blatantly evident.

"Somehow, I'm going to convince him that Liana and I are meant to be together. And I'm going to get his permission."

That was the only way to end things well. The only way that he and Liana would be happy together. Liana loved her family, and her family hated shifters. But Conner wouldn't willingly sit by and allow Liana to succumb to a broken mating bond. The pain of the broken bond would be excruciating, and in Liana's case it would—without a doubt—kill her. Liana's only hope came in completing the bond with Conner.

Unfortunately, Liana's father stood in the way of his own daughter's life.

The easier way to go about this would be to tell Liana's dad about the need for the mating bond. To confess that Liana would quite literally die if she left Conner. But Conner doubted such a thing would be perceived as anything other than a threat.

And he refused to get his way by threatening his mate's family.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Landon asked for the umpteenth time.

Conner shook his head. He wouldn't be okay until Liana was back in his arms, safe, with a completed mating bond. But he had a feeling it would take a while to get to that point. Staying away wasn't an option, but neither was barging into Liana's house.

A tension headache pressed at Conner's skull. He pushed the heels of his hands to his forehead in hopes of stilling its onset.

Landon drummed his fingers against the steering wheel. "We can take her back with us. Legally."

"We're not going to defy her father like that." Conner slapped a hand against Landon's shoulder. "Out. Get out of the car and keep an eye on the hospital."

"What about you?" Landon opened the driver's door but didn't manage to haul himself out of the seat.

Conner glared at him. "Told you. I'm going to go change."

The glare was enough to send Landon tumbling out of the truck, stumbling on the pavement to catch his balance.

Conner didn't wait to explain, apologize, or see if Landon remained on his feet. He didn't have time for those kinds of pleasantries. Instead, he climbed into the driver's seat, slammed the door closed, and cranked the engine. The sooner he left, the sooner he could return. Which would be better for both his sanity and Liana's health.

It haunted him the entire trip back to the reservation. What could he do to convince Liana's father that Conner and Liana needed each other? A verbal explanation would do nothing. Liana's father held too much bias against shifters.

Need our mate, the wolf whined, as upset and frustrated as Conner.

Conner pulled onto the road that would take him directly to the reservation. "I know. We'll figure it out."

The wolf growled in agitation, but remained suspiciously silent about any plans. For years, Conner had lived in harmony with his inner wolf. Only now did he find that he didn't trust himself to remain calm in this situation. He would have to pay particular attention to the inner wolf, just in case he had plans of his own. Conner had no intention of going insane over this.

Yet, he knew, patience would be harder to endure than anything else he had been through.